Originally this started as an entirely different fanfic and somehow it sprouted itself into what will become its own full blown multi-chapter piece. I really enjoyed writing this chapter, and the beginning of the next two. I hope you enjoy reading it as well.
I was going for more of a stream-of-consciousness style of writing with this one as I wanted it to flow more like someone was telling a story than my last one.
Please review!
NOTE! The things italicized inside apostrophes are in sign language, whereas things just inside apostrophes are written, just in case the difference wasn't as obvious as I tried to make it out to be.
-FEELS
The music was fast, mind-numbingly thumping and just on the edge of overwhelming. The bodies writhed together on the dance floor like fluid mass of sweat and bad intentions, and it made him feel insignificant in the midst of it.
But this was the kind of insignificance that Lovino liked. It was so much different than being pointed out and noticed by the general population for lacking something people considered inherent, or being compared to his brother by people who didn't know any better. It wasn't feeling insignificant because he wasn't as special, or because he was special in all the wrong ways. It was being insignificant because everything was insignificant and everything was bleeding together into one incredible high that Lovino could feel in his bones.
Lovino was addicted to it. At first it had been too much. It was scary, walking into a room with so much to see and no safety net to catch him if he really couldn't handle it. He'd never had so much to focus on in his life. But the point of it was to not focus on anything, and once he fell into a rhythm of dancing to the soul rumbling vibrations he was hooked.
No one came here to be coddled, it wasn't a place for people who wanted a relaxing night. Good Vibrations was for people who wanted to disappear into the oblivion of the music and the people and the liquor. You weren't seen, you weren't heard, and you didn't feel anything that you didn't want to. There was a certain numbness to it that had Lovino couldn't get enough of. It was soothing, and the Italian would often come when he was feeling down or stressed out by everything else to let loose and feel like a part of something more.
People didn't walk up to him and sign here. They usually didn't try to communicate at all, yet somehow Lovino always felt a little closer to the strangers on the dance floor than he did anyone else. Lovino could tell the club was very, very loud by how deeply he could feel it resonate. No one could hear anyone else, and interaction was usually on a purely physical level.
And that, Lovino could do.
Tonight, however, there was something different in the air. He didn't know what, but it kept him from closing his eyes as much and drowning everything else out. There was something different about tonight, and he had to figure out what before he could fall into the comforting spiral of energy.
Hands on his hips made Lovino jump. They held him in place so he couldn't turn around to see who the person was, but by the breath on his neck and the lips near his ear Lovino assumed whoever-it-was was coming onto him.
The Italian didn't stop dancing, and the person behind him merely danced along, hands following his hips fluidly without influencing the movements. They moved together, and Lovino fed off of the movements of the other to keep him with the beat of the music more than he did the vibrations for once. It wasn't the first time Lovino had danced with someone else, but it was the first time it had been so easy.
There was a lull in the crowd and the thumping abruptly stopped. The song was over, and a quick glance told Lovino that the DJ was saying something, though he didn't feel all too bad for missing whatever he was animatedly yelling into his microphone. Instead of trying to make it out, Lovino took his chance to turn around and see who the mystery man behind him was.
The first thing he saw was dark curly hair. His estimate of the guy's height had been off. The man was only an inch or two taller than Lovino, so he had to practically look straight ahead before he saw light colored eyes and a smile that managed to blend friendly and sexy into one dumb grin.
"What's your name?" His lips continued moving, but Lovino had trouble making out what they were supposed to be saying after that. Some silly nickname, perhaps, designed to win him over.
Lovino didn't respond, instead looking the man in front of him up and down. He was very attractive in a conventional Mediterranean way. Dark skin, bright eyes, lean muscle, manly in a lazy European kind of way; coincidently the kind of man Lovino had always fantasized about.
Except maybe a little shorter and plumper than his usual dream hunk.
A shift in the man's facial expression caught Lovino's attention, as the friendly turned into something darker and hotter. "Ah, I see. Hard to get, yes?" Lovino felt the hands around his hips twist into his belt loops before he was jerked forward, their hips colliding. "I always did like a challenge."
What the hell, Lovino could be labelled hard to get. It was better than being labelled deaf.
Never mind that he was disgustingly desperate for some attention that wasn't from his family.
The vibrations started up again, and Lovino merely answered him with a raised brow, a silent question as he decided to masquerade as hard-to-get for the time being. He couldn't help but smirk when it went exactly the way he was hoping it would.
"Would you like to get a drink? I will be paying, of course." His lips formed the words smoothly, different from the typical American. With such an endearing smile Lovino could never have turned him down so he raised his shoulders and tilted his head to the side, agreeing without seeming too eager or revealing too much.
Another bright smile greeted him, and he was only slightly disappointed when the man let go of his belt loops to take his hand instead. Mystery-hunk lead him to the bar as Lovino trailed behind enough to get a good look at the other man's toned ass.
Goddamn, he didn't even know if he was aroused or jealous.
They passed loads of people on the trek to the other end of the long building and he nearly ran into half of them, but eventually they found a spot at the far end of the bar where the only two consecutive seats were available.
Lovino sat so he was facing the taller man. He may be fine with coming off as hard to get, but he didn't want to seem rude and lose his company for the night just because he hadn't realized they were speaking. Luckily, he didn't have to stare at him for too long before he was being addressed again.
A glass was placed in front of him unexpectedly, and his eyes quickly darted over to see who had placed it there and what it was. From the looks of it Antonio had ordered him something alcoholic. Lovino didn't even try to hide the black 'X' on the back of his hand as he picked it up and took a hesitant sip.
It was alcoholic, Lovino deduced, but it was almost too fruity to tell, and it was really, really tasty. A glance to his side revealed that Mr. Assumes-A-Lot had ordered himself a beer and had already downed a shot of something else. Lovino wasn't sure if he should have been offended that a fruity drink had been ordered for him or impressed because, aside from wine, he'd ever thought that alcoholic drinks had tasted good.
A hand was waved in front of his face, snapping him out of his stupor he'd fallen in staring at the empty shot glass. There was an odd expression on Antonio's face when Lovino finally looked towards him. His brows were furrowed, and his smile had almost completely left his face, only leaving a dumb quirk in the corners.
"Did you not hear me?" He asked. Lovino rolled his eyes and shook his head. He hadn't heard anything his entire life, and that wasn't going to change any time soon.
"I asked you if you were alright? You had zoned out." There was concern in his expression rather than the expected annoyance. He only nodded in response.
Lovino didn't socialize with people. Not like this, at least. How was he supposed to hold a conversation without revealing that he couldn't actually hear a word the other was saying, nor could he verbally reply?
"You do not say much, do you?" The man asked, taking a swig from his beer, and he laughed when Lovino only shook his head in response. The way the other man's face lit up intrigued him. There was no malice in the amusement. What a fucking friendly guy. "Why is that?"
That question stopped him halfway through the drink he was taking of his nameless fruity concoction. It wasn't a simple yes or no question, so now the hunk who had never gotten a name was either going to leave because Lovino was a rude bastard who didn't answer, or he was going to leave because he was deaf.
No one ever wanted to go home with a deaf guy. When Lovino ended up sleeping with someone it was usually because the other person was too drunk to realize or too horny to care. He'd accepted long ago that most people were uncomfortable when they tried to hold to a conversation with him whether they were hard of hearing or not, but it never made it sting any less when people cut conversations short.
Lovino's mood plummeted, and instead of answering the guy Lovino gulped down the rest of his drink and slammed the girly little margarita glass down on the counter, staring at the empty glass like it had personally offended him. Why had he thought this would end well, trying to hold a conversation without really reciprocating? Why had he even agreed to come over here before they were practically humping each other?
There were three quick taps on his shoulder, and Lovino threw his head back around towards the man, ready for him to excuse himself before he even learned his name.
Instead the man pointed to his ear and dragged it down towards his lips, his eyebrows raised in an implied question.
'Deaf?'
Lovino stared at him wide-eyed, looking from his hands to his face and back again. Had mystery-man just signed to him? Surely not. The universe had never been that kind. Lovino didn't answer, but the man moved his hands again. This time Lovino paid attention.
'My f-r-i-e-n-d-s brother t-e-a-c-h-e-s a-s-l' He was very halting with his sign language; he would start and stop often and his form was atrocious. The man obviously didn't use it often- he even had to spell out most of it- but sure enough the bastard was signing to him.
Lovino turned in his chair suddenly, and started emphatically moving his hands and mouthing 'No', nearly hitting miracle-guy in the face when he swiped his hand across the air to sign 'No way'. After scooting himself back on his stool a little, he continued, his hands moving in quick, excited motions. 'Really? You sign?'
The other man looked confused, scratching the back of his head sheepishly before he shook his head and started tracing circles in the middle of his chest with a fist. His form was so sloppy it took Lovino a moment to realize the man was apologizing.
Obviously the guy wasn't very well versed, but it was something. It was more than most people. There was an attractive, gay man out there who was both attracted to Lovino and knew how to sign, even if it was basic at best. He couldn't stop the wild grin from spreading across his face like a grass fire in the plains, igniting something within him.
Lovino pointed to the stranger and spelled out 'N-a-m-e?' slow enough for him to translate it into a word. After a minute his full lips formed the word while his pointer and middle finger of both hands tapped together twice. Apparently that was a sign he knew, and Lovino nodded.
Suddenly the other guy held up a finger in the universal 'wait' symbol, and he started patting around his ass a few times-which looked rather comical while he was sitting down- before he pulled out his phone. He clicked around a few times before he started typing, turned completely away from Lovino and facing the back of the bar.
Fucking really? The guy had gotten bored of him already apparently, had something better to do.
Whatever, it wouldn't be the first time an asl beginner had done something like that, but ignoring him to answer a text? He wasn't hot enough for Lovino to put up with something like that. The temperamental Italian moved to get off of the stool, his expression carved back into a scowl before he was pushed back into his seat and a phone was shoved in his hands.
The screen was tinted yellow and lined like a notebook- his memos apparently- and the only words on the page formed a sentence. 'Ill tell mine whn u telk me urs'
Lovino scoffed, looking back up at the bastard with an amused expression. He was trying to sign out 'i-n a h-u-r-r-y' in his very sloppy sign language to likely explain his awful English. Lovino had never been so happy to see someone try so hard to talk to him, even if it was just for the novelty of having a conversation with a deaf person. This man didn't know his family or his situation, yet he seemed to genuinely want to talk to the deaf guy he'd invited for drinks.
Maybe he was just being polite or hoping for a cool story to tell, but he was hot and he was trying and that's more than Lovino could say for most.
So he didn't hesitate to type his name and hand the phone back.
It looked like Antonio said his name aloud when he read it, but his lips didn't move enough for Lovino to really be able to tell. He set his phone down on the bar and clearly signed 'A-n-t-o-n-i-o' in response. That he could sign relatively well without muddling the letters together.
Lovino could still feel the music thumping, vibrating his seat and the countertop when it fell into a particularly fast and harsh rhythm. He wondered if Antonio was having a hard time concentrating with all of the noise.
Snatching Antonio's phone of the counter and thankful that there wasn't a password or pattern lock on it Lovino typed out a message before practically throwing the phone back at him, his face flaming.
'Do you want to go somewhere else?'
Antonio looked at him with a bright, eager smile as he took him by the hand once again. Lovino was lead him out of the club and to the curb right underneath the neon Good Vibrations sign. Antonio stopped him to ask 'w-h-i-c-h c-a-r?'. He was already getting more fluid as he signed, but his form was still sloppy as shit.
Lovino briefly considered the dangers of getting in the car with a stranger and decided that getting in the car with his brother was even worse. The Italian pointed towards Antonio in the sign for 'you' rather than using the correct sign for 'yours'. If the curly haired man knew as little sign language as Lovino thought he did the sign might have looked more like Lovino was telling him to stop.
With a nod Antonio turned towards the right and started walking into the dimly lit parking lot. A gentle pressure on Lovino's hand kept him in step with the other man as an anxious feeling bubbled up from the pit of Lovino's stomach like acid reflux. He was lead to meager truck that was built more for getting places than it was for style.
Antonio led him all the way to the passenger side of the truck and opened the door for him before he finally let go of his hand. Before getting in the car, Lovino moved his hand around in front of his face signing 'silly bastard'. He was aware that Antonio probably had no idea what he had said, and that was just the way he preferred it.
Antonio gave him a funny look, but he didn't get a chance to question him before Lovino shut the door himself and made a show of pushing the lock down and buckling his seat belt. Antonio stared at him through the window with that same dumb expression on his face until Lovino knocked against the window and snapped him out of it.
The truck gave a great rumble as it started up, and continued to vibrate as Antonio flipped around and pulled out of the parking spot. Lovino always wanted a car like this, one where he could feel the engine working, but instead he'd gotten his grandfather's decade old Lamborghini. He couldn't really complain, it was a very nice car and it made him look like he was worth something but when it came to cars Lovino had always preferred power over style.
Plus the thing broke down all the damn time.
He was a very corporeal person. Lovino preferred to feel things rather than see them, unlike his brother. There was so much that could be missed by the eyes alone, and so much that could be understood through a physical connection. Of course, sight was important. It was how he got through his day, and how he compensated for not being able to hear in a world that saw deafness as a disability, but touch was how he preferred to interact with the world. If he could feel the thumping of the music, or the rumbling of the car he didn't feel like he needed to hear despite what the world tried to tell him.
Lovino had been deaf for his entire life, along with his mother and little brother and a good bit of the family, so it wasn't like he missed hearing things. Most of the time it wasn't even a thought that crossed his mind. The movies always had subtitles, the plays always had interpreters, and the roads were friendly to the hard-of-hearing. But the modern world was built for five senses, not four, and there was no way to deny that.
Lovino never felt bad for not being able to hear, but authority figures in his young life had tried to convince him he did. Most of his favorite toys as a young child lit up and moved around and, as his grandfather had explained to him one day, played music.
The first time he had realized that the button he liked to press on the back of his favorite action figure made it speak, Lovino had thrown it against a wall and stomped on it until it was unfixable, and then he'd cried because he'd lost his favorite toy. He'd grown up signing. English itself was a second language to him and still a majority of the world thought he was dumb because they didn't know any better.
Sight was deceiving, misleading, and confusing. Most things didn't look like they had sound, but when he touched things he could experience it all, more than most would imagine.
There was a home video buried somewhere in the attic of the first time that Nonno had played music for Lovino and Feliciano. He had borrowed some speakers from one of his friends, plugged his guitar into them, and held Feliciano and Lovino's hands to them as he strummed. Feliciano had been too young at the time to understand what the vibrations meant, and he quickly retracted his hand from the weird feeling.
Lovino, however, had been ecstatic and he'd started bouncing around and grinning like his grandfather had just given him the universe. Everyone's favorite part of the video was where Lovino tried to ask his grandfather to make it vibrate more without removing his hands from the speaker by trying to sign with his feet.
That had been his big present for Christmas that year, and that night he'd turned them on late at night to feel the vibrations dance, to feel the music in the most literal sense possible rattle deep in his core so he'd turned the knob as far as it would go. His father, the only hearing one in the house at the time, had been furious.
For a while Lovino had been obsessed with feeling everything to know what he was missing by merely looking at things. He had been introduced to something new, and at the hardy age of five he had created his own world out of the beats and textures he could feel, and Lovino was always making noise and touching things just to see what he could pick up on.
He'd often thought that had been why his father left. More than once Lovino had broken things in the house and woken him up at odd times in the night with whatever racket he was attempting to make. In reality the view society had on deaf people had finally won him over.
But society was wrong. Lovino didn't feel disabled or left out because he'd never been able to hear in the first place. It was the movements he missed when everything was silent and still. Often times he would turn on the speakers whenever he needed to do homework or read something for the same reason a hearing person would. It made him feel like he wasn't alone.
Lovino was shaken from his thoughts when Antonio stopped at a red light, and reached over to turn the volume on the radio down. Lovino looked over to figure out why to see Antonio frantically trying to fingerspell before the light turned green again. He was in such a hurry that his form was even worse if that was possible, and Lovino could hardly tell the difference between an 'a' and a 'c' and a 'y'. Antonio looked so frantic about trying to say whatever he was saying. His eyes kept darting from his hands to the light to make sure it hadn't turned green.
Lovino's lips turned upwards for the second time that night and he had to wonder why this guy that he'd met barely half an hour ago had such an effect on him. His own brother couldn't get him to smile more than a couple times in a conversation no matter how hard he tried, but Antonio was hardly doing anything to earn it.
The smile must have looked mocking somehow, or whatever Antonio was trying to fingerspell really wasn't entertaining because he stopped, waved his hands around as if to erase the previous letter from the air, and started over much more clearly this time. His movements were more precise, and Lovino was able to make out what Antonio was trying to say, but his form was still severely lacking.
'T-h-a-t b-a-d?'
Lovino nodded his head, smile still firmly in place because hell yes it was that bad. He figured if Antonio was going to understand the majority of what he said he'd need to fingerspell and phrase things in proper English like Antonio had been doing rather than proper asl. His dominant hand began bouncing and flicking around in the air, spelling out his response relatively slowly and even pausing so Antonio knew where the breaks between words were. All in all Lovino thought he was being pretty considerate.
'Y-e-s i-t w-a-s t-h-a-t b-a-d b-u-t I c-a-n u-s-u-a-l-l-y u-n-d-e-r-s-t-a-n-d a-n-y-w-a-y'
Antonio watched his fingers; his expression grew more helpless the longer Lovino continued trying to communicate and he knew he had lost him. He sat there with a furrowed, pinched kind of expression for a minute before taking a deep breath and raising his hands to sign something that was likely telling Lovino he didn't know what he was saying.
It wouldn't be new. People rarely could understand Lovino when he signed unless they were fluent like Feliciano. Sometimes his grandfather couldn't even keep up because Lovino often refused to mouth the words or make exaggerated expressions even if he knew the person he was talking to was a novice.
Antonio would probably be able to understand Feliciano, even if the dimwit was speaking completely in sign and not even fingerspelling for him.
Before Antonio could get to proving Lovino right, however, he jumped violently, his head spinning around to look behind him, and then back towards the light that had flipped to green in the meantime. He looked troubled for a second before he grabbed a hold of the wheel again and accelerated. After he passed the intersection he started rubbing a fist in circles against his chest again.
Apologizing again because he couldn't understand Lovino.
The Italian turned to face the window, fully intending to look at the lights and pout about his troubles until they reached wherever they were going.
Antonio, however, didn't intend to let him. Just down the street Antonio turned sharply into a Panda Express parking lot. It was almost midnight and the restaurant was closed, so he had no trouble finding a parking spot. Lovino was amused that he even pulled into one correctly to begin with.
After putting the car into park with a very decisive motion the brunette yanked his phone out from his back pocket and started typing furiously. Lovino didn't want to get his hopes up, but the situation was the same as it had been earlier than night and it was hard not expect it when Antonio thrust the phone into his hands, the memo page open and the remnants of their past conversation visible.
'Im sry Im not v good at this. Englishisn't even my 1st languag and I took the clas bc I thought how it would be fun and free so I only know the abcs and a few siple things. But Ill grt better so pls don't be upset!'
Lovino felt his heart soar, twist painfully, and fall flat on its face. Antonio had quit driving just so he could say whatever he wanted to say and he had said he would get better at it, implying that this wouldn't be the last time they talked. The idea of having someone to talk to that wasn't a family member or someone from the deaf community was exciting. Usually people who weren't hard of hearing only wanted to talk to him for the novelty of it, and often they would leave once they realized they couldn't understand Lovino as easily as they had imagined.
Lovino wasn't a fun guy to talk to, he knew this very well. When he signed, he was speaking, not putting on a show. Usually his expression represented what he was feeling, rather than what he was saying. But this guy, for some reason, was different. He acted like he wanted to talk to Lovino even though Lovino had nothing interesting to say, and no interesting way to say it.
Lovino didn't understand why Antonio wanted to try so hard just for one man, and the idea of it all was intimidating, but Lovino was also cruelly excited at the idea of having a real friend. He knew it probably wouldn't last. Hell, he'd be surprised if it lasted longer than just one night.
But, he supposed, there was no harm in trying. There was something different about Antonio. Lovino just had to figure out what that different thing was.
After a moment of hesitation, Lovino responded and handed the phone back.
'You're right, you're awful at it and your form is hideous, but when you aren't trying to rush I can understand you well enough. But signing is a language, you know, you have to work at it.'
Antonio finished reading and looked up at Lovino, beaming- though the Italian couldn't understand why- before he started typing again.
'I already learnEnglish for strangers I cn learn asl fr a friend'
Lovino flushed when he read it. So Antonio really considered him a friend already?
'I am not your friend. We don't even know each other.'
The bastard shook his head and gave Lovino a scolding look as if he had said something out of line.
'Thats why were goin to the cafe to tlak'
When Lovino read the message he couldn't help but look back over at Antonio with a puzzled expression. Since when were they going to a coffee place to talk? Lovino had thought they were going to Antonio's house to screw. Color him surprised.
'Café?'
It wasn't hard to get into a rhythm of passing the phone back and forth. Even the periods in between typing weren't awkward if he took the time to scrutinize the man in the driver's seat.
'Yes this is wht I say to u athe stoplight'
Lovino had no trouble believing that Antonio's first language was not English. He looked foreign, and he sounded foreign when he typed. It made Lovino wonder where Antonio was from, but now was not the appropriate time to ask. A witty comeback was more apropos.
'Oh, you were saying something? I thought you were just waving your hand around.'
Antonio balked, and placed his hand over his chest in a dramatic wounded gesture.
'U sad that it was nt so bad!'
The response made Lovino laugh, which caught him off guard more than anything. It wasn't often that he laughed, and it was practically unheard of for him to do so naturally. He blinked himself back into focus and blamed it on the alcohol. The bastard wasn't that funny. Lovino must have just been in a good mood.
'I said that it was awful, actually. And it is. But I was being sarcastic a moment ago.'
When Lovino looked up again to hand the phone back Antonio looked awestruck, like he'd seen a diamond as big as his head in the arms of a supermodel who was standing in front of God himself. Lovino gave him the phone back and ignored it, and refused to look at him when the phone was passed back his way.
'You have a beautiful laugh'
It was the first thing Antonio had typed completely correct. Lovino looked up and he knew couldn't believe the sincerity in his acid green eyes yet he blushed all the same. His response was easy enough.
'I wouldn't know.'
Antonio gave him a curious look. It was unreadable, even to someone with as much experience as Lovino. There were traces of sadness and amusement, understanding and confusion, synonyms and antonyms alike. In response to it Lovino narrowed his eyes but offered nothing else.
There was a long pause before Antonio began typing again but fortunately only part of it was spent staring at Lovino with that confusing expression, and when the response came it was a short and simple topic change.
'To the cafenow! '
Lovino pretended he wasn't disappointed.
They spent the rest of the night talking at the all night coffee place Antonio took them to. They mostly used the memos on Antonio's phone, but every so often Antonio would start to sign again for a brief period. It seemed like it was easier for the Spaniard to communicate while they were sitting at a private table in the small quaint coffee shop since there weren't any distractions, and he'd had time to sober up.
But, as Lovino found out, that was a double edged sword. Antonio had nothing to distract him from typing correctly or fingerspelling more coherently, but he also had nothing to distract him from Lovino and more than once Lovino felt his face catch fire when he'd look up from typing to see Antonio's intense green stare on him.
Lovino told him to cut it out, to which Antonio merely smiled. The Italian pretended he didn't know it was hypocritical of him to ask such a thing when he spent all his non-communicating time staring at him as well.
But it wasn't his fault the bastard had an unusually attractive face.
In that one night Lovino learned more about Antonio than he knew about some of the people he saw on a weekly basis. Antonio liked talking to him with his hands, his expression, and his phone, and Lovino liked the attention too much to make him stop.
Antonio never asked him why he was deaf or talked to him like he was stupid. He didn't even ask if Lovino could read lips when he started shaking his hands out because they'd been cramping up. Antonio payed rapt attention when Lovino actually signed to him, and he never blamed Lovino if he couldn't understand.
Lovino thought he was a dream come true in all honesty, but that just made him all the more suspicious.
As the clock was nearing two thirty in the morning the conversation was very quickly nearing its close. Their topics had dulled down to the décor of the café they were in and how comfortable the couch in the corner looked. It was lackluster at best, but still it didn't end until Lovino suggested that they turn in for the night.
Antonio looked a bit troubled but agreed anyways, and Lovino couldn't decide if it was flattering or disappointing.
The Spaniard bid the waitress a farewell and led Lovino out to his car. It was one of only three in the parking lot, but still he pointed towards it before Lovino could embarrass himself by going over to the black truck instead of the red one in his sleepy daze.
There was no conversation on the way back to the parking lot of Good Vibrations- which was almost completely empty as well- until Lovino had to direct Antonio to his car because the bastard wouldn't just let him walk to it himself.
As Lovino was sliding out of the tall diesel beast, Antonio grabbed him by the wrist and didn't let him leave until Lovino had taught Antonio how to say goodbye and had done it at least a dozen times.
The drive home was its usual blend of late night city traffic and bright lights over a dark background. He shed his clothes as soon as he stepped inside the door of his single room apartment with a note to pick them up later and flopped himself face first in bed.
Just as dreamland was approaching with green eyes and a bright smile Lovino realized they had never exchanged phone numbers or any means of contact and his heart fell to the pit of his stomach.
At least, he though, it was good while it lasted.
The next Friday Lovino was back at his favorite club. He'd dressed skimpier than usual in the tightest pants he owned and a shirt that was perfectly made to show off his lower stomach. Tonight he wasn't just here to let loose, he wanted someone to go home with.
Everyone was blending into one fluid mesh of skin as usual, and all of the songs had bass beats so similar Lovino could never remember if they'd played the song before or not. It was rhythmic and hazy and perfect after the absolutely shitty week he'd had.
Lovino was bouncing to the beat with his arms raised in a way that he knew would make his shirt ride up and expose more skin, and when he felt two large hands grab him by the hips he knew his clothes had done their job well.
The two of them swayed to the beat, grinding against each other when the moment felt right. For the first couple of songs Lovino had stayed with his back facing the man behind him. They moved fluidly, easily, and it only made his mood plummet when he was reminded of what it was like dancing with Antonio the week prior.
Lovino's breath hitched when he felt warm lips on his neck, the hands on his hips pressing him just a little bit closer, holding him just a little bit tighter, and Lovino forgot why he was upset at all.
Suddenly, right in the middle of the song, Lovino was twirled around. He went with it easily enough.
The first thing he saw was dark, curly hair- his estimate had been off again, dammit!- and then bright green eyes and a familiar blinding smile.
The Italian's face lit up into a wild grin. Last week he had been so sure he was never going to see the man again. He'd been in an awful mood most of the week because of it but now he was back and Lovino didn't even care to hide how happy it made him.
Maybe the universe actually wanted him to have a friend for once.
Antonio nodded towards the bar, and Lovino took the hint and quickly dragged him over. Lovino was practically bouncing as he greeted the Spaniard and waited for him to order their drinks, his smile never faltering.
Lovino watched with big, childlike eyes as Antonio pointed to his chin with his pointer and middle finger and curled them down twice.
'So cute!'
He balked, his expression pinching back into its usual scowl. Antonio's smirk told him that the bastard was pretty proud of himself, but it was met with narrowed, suspicious eyes. Lovino began to fingerspell slowly and concisely in a comically serious way.
'B-a-d w-o-r-d! W-h-o t-a-u-g-h-t you t-h-a-t?'
Lovino couldn't deny that it made his heart beat that much faster, however, when Antonio's leg brushed his. When did he become such a girl?
'I am learning asl for you'
The signs he was using weren't even that hard, and Lovino had no doubt that he'd spent his time learning a handful of ones that he was positive he'd use. It was extremely flattering to say the least, even if Antonio was doing it all for his own reasons. Lovino took a large drink of his fruity something-or-another before throwing his dominant hand around in a mock-angry gesture.
'Damn charmer'
The confused expression on his face proved to Lovino that he was right about Antonio only learning a few phrases. Somehow, Lovino wasn't all that disappointed.
'S-t-i-l-l n-o-t g-o-o-d sorry'
Sorry really seemed to be this guy's favorite phrase, but it didn't dull the warm fuzzy feeling in the pit of Lovino's stomach. God, he really was pathetic, wasn't he? A few phrases were all it took to win him over.
But… he had come here to get laid tonight, hadn't he?
Lovino thrust one hand out towards Antonio, while the other came up towards his ear in the 'telephone' sign. Even Antonio should have been able to figure that out.
He did. Not even five seconds later Lovino had the Spaniard's phone in his hand which, he noticed, was already open to a fresh memo page right after he unlocked it. He typed the same phrase he had used last time.
'Do you want to go somewhere else?'
Antonio was quick to place the phone down on the counter and fingerspell 'C-a-f-e?' with the cutest hopeful expression, Lovino almost felt bad about suggesting something else.
But the more committed Antonio was to using his sloppy sign language, the less Lovino thought he could control himself. He was already horny and somehow the bastard seemed more attractive this week than he had the last.
Lovino put on his most seductive grin as he reached over to grab his phone again, and he slyly peeked over the phone as he typed. Antonio raised a brow and his smile fell into a smirk. Both of them knew what the other was thinking.
'I was actually thinking my house. I have a very comfortable bed.'
He couldn't help but turn a deep red when he handed the phone back, especially when Antonio gave him an absolutely smoldering look.
'I was thinking you would never ask'
